Knapp Commission

NEW YORK CITY'S Knapp Commission Report on Police Corruption became public in 1972, and it [Page 486]comprises the most comprehensive collection of cases involving bribery of police officers. The city had experienced several previous corruption scandals prior to the Knapp Commission, including those in 1892 (quelled by Theodore Roosevelt), 1911, 1932, and 1951. The Knapp investigation was the result of information about police corruption brought to light in 1967 by former New York City detective Frank Serpico. The Knapp Commission, chaired by Whitman Knapp (who became a federal judge shortly after the commission ended), was in operation from 1967 through the end of 1972. It found pervasive corruption throughout virtually all lower ranks (through lieutenant) of the New York City Police Department, as well as ...